New rules and regulations from 1 July 2026

Changes from 1 July 2026

Type 2 tachograph mandatory for vehicles from 2,500 kg

Vehicles from 2,500 kg operating internationally must have a smart tachograph type 2 (SMT2). A tachograph records a vehicle’s driving and rest times, speed, and distance travelled.

The smart tachograph was already mandatory for vehicles over 3,500 kg operating internationally. Now it will become mandatory for lighter vehicles as well. There are some exceptions. For example, do you run a construction company and only use your vehicle to travel to your client? Or do you only drive within the Netherlands? In that case, the rule does not apply.

Toll for trucks weighing 3,500 kg or more

The Netherlands is introducing a truck toll (vrachtwagenheffing) to encourage clean transport. You will pay an average of 20 eurocents per kilometre for every kilometre you drive with the truck on certain roads. The heavy goods vehicle charge applies to almost all motorways and a number of N-roads.

The heavier and more polluting the truck, the more you pay. Electric trucks are exempt up to a maximum weight of 4,250 kg. Bear this in mind if you are investing in new vehicles in the coming years.

Childcare: half of staff may be trainees

At daycare centres and after-school care centres, half of the staff may consist of trainees. This gives you more options for scheduling staff and dealing with staff shortages. But you must have a supervision plan when employing trainees. In this plan, you set out how you will supervise these staff members and what they are and are not permitted to do independently.

This temporary measure came into effect in 2022 and is now being made permanent.

Childminders to receive better supervision and professional training

The quality requirements for childminding are being tightened. For instance:

• New childminders without a qualification in early years education (diploma pedagogiek) must complete a module in early years education. This does not apply to existing childminders.
• Staff at childminding agencies who supervise childminders must be better trained. 
• In addition, pedagogical coaching and further training will become a fixed part of the annual meetings between childminding agencies and childminders.
• Childminding agencies will also be given more freedom in how these meetings are conducted.

New rules for childminding

New rules for childminding are coming into effect. As a childminder, you will soon only be allowed to register with a maximum of 2 childminding agencies. And if you also look after your own children, you must include them up to the age of 8 when calculating the maximum number of children you are allowed to look after. Currently, this is up to the age of 10.

Does your child attend a different childminder? In that case, you can apply for childcare benefit (kinderopvangtoeslag). Currently, the benefit only applies to childcare at daycare and after-school care centres.

The requirements for childminders will be brought into line with those for daycare and after-school care:

• You will receive at least 3 hours of coaching per year from the childminding agency you are registered with. In addition, you must undertake training yourself to keep your pedagogical knowledge and skills up to date. Childminding agencies often offer courses and training for this purpose.
• You must draw up a pedagogical work plan in which you describe how you work and how you monitor the children’s development.

The aim of these changes is to improve the quality of childminding and make working as a childminder more attractive.

No more import duty exemption for consignments up to €150 

Are you an importer of products from countries outside the European Union (EU)? Then you will soon also have to pay import duties on shipments from non-EU countries with a value of up to €150. Currently, you are still exempt from this.

A levy of €3 per product type will apply per shipment. This is known as a ‘declaration line’ (aangifteregel). For example, if a parcel contains 1 silk blouse and 2 cotton blouses, the levy is 2 times €3. There will also be additional costs for customs checks on small parcels. This European handling fee (UHF) is likely to come into effect on 1 November 2026 and will be around €2 per declaration line. So, you will then pay €5 per declaration line, including the import duty.

Telemarketing: no longer call customers without their consent

You may no longer call (potential) customers without their prior consent. This does not apply to charities, charity lotteries, and publishers.

Temporary employment agencies must report accidents to the Labour Authority

Do you run a temporary employment agency? If so, you must report accidents involving temporary workers to the Netherlands Labour Authority and to the business where the temporary worker is employed. This business must also report the accident to the Labour Authority. The temporary employment agency (the supplier) and the business where the temporary worker is employed (the hirer) are jointly responsible for safety.

This new rule has been introduced to improve the safety of temporary workers.

Later in 2026

European Packaging Regulation (PPWR)

From 12 August 2026, the way in which you may package products will change. The new Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) imposes stricter requirements on packaging within the EU. The aim is to:

• reduce packaging, 
• increase the reuse of materials, and
• achieve fully recyclable packaging.

The rules affect almost all businesses that manufacture packaging articles, use packaging to deliver products, sell packaging, or dispose of it.

eEvidence: mandatory provision of digital evidence

Do you offer online services in the EU, such as cloud storage, online marketplaces, or domain name registries? From 18 August 2026, you must provide digital evidence if requested by European authorities such as the police and judicial authorities. Digital evidence includes emails, chat messages, cloud files, IP addresses, and subscription data, which are often stored by (tech) businesses in another EU country.

This eEvidence rule means criminal investigations will proceed more quickly. You will have to provide data within a short time frame. Register in good time with the European register (Court Database, CDB). You can find out when and how via the ECP Platform for the Information Society newsletter (in Dutch).

Cyber Resilience Act: requirements for secure digital products

This European law concerns secure digital products. Do you manufacture or import digital products? Or software or smart devices? If so, you will soon have to follow these rules, amongst others:

• You must report serious security issues and misuse promptly (from 11 September 2026).
• You must meet new security requirements, such as providing security updates (from 11 December 2027).

The CRA is also known in the Netherlands as the Cyber Resilience Regulation (Verordening cyberweerbaarheid). 

Customers better protected against misleading sustainability claims

Under a European directive, from 27 September 2026 you must be able to  back up your sustainability claims. Sustainability claims are promises about how sustainable your product or business is. This rule is intended to better protect consumers from companies that make false claims, known as greenwashing.

From 2027

Youngtimer scheme only for cars 25 years old or older

Do you use a company youngtimer vehicle privately? Then you currently only pay a 35% addition for private use (bijtelling). You calculate the private use addition according to the youngtimer scheme based on the car’s current market value. Youngtimers are currently cars that are between 16 and 25 years old. From 2027, only cars aged 25 years or older will still be covered by the low private use addition scheme.

How are laws made?

Sometimes a new law or an amendment is announced, and then does not go ahead, or the effective date is postponed. Why do some announced laws come into effect, while others do not?

Roughly speaking, the legislation process works like this. Ministries and the lower house of parliament (Tweede Kamer) prepare laws. Once the lower house of parliament has approved a law, it goes to the upper house (Eerste Kamer). They can only accept or reject the law. If the upper house accepts the proposal, the government publishes the new law in the Staatsblad (Government Gazette).

The effective date of a law can be mentioned in the law itself. Or the law may state that the government will determine the effective date by Royal Decree (Koninklijk Besluit, KB). The KB is published in the Staatsblad.

As the legislative process consists of many steps, it can take a while before a proposed law enters into effect. Changes in the composition of the lower and upper houses of parliament can also affect the progress. If there is a caretaker cabinet in place ('demissionair cabinet'), it will only handle current affairs and not take any major decisions. 

Supervision and enforcement

In the Netherlands, several organisations are responsible for supervising and enforcing laws. 

Supervision

Several supervisory organisations check whether everyone complies with the law. Examples are the Autoriteit Financiële Markten (Financial Markets Authority, AFM), the Nederlandse Voedsel- en Warenautoriteit (Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority, NVWA) and the Inspectie voor de Gezondheidszorg (Healthcare Inspectorate, IGZ).

Enforcers

Municipalities, police, and the Openbaar Ministerie (public prosecution, OM) enforce laws in several ways. Think of performing checks or providing information and advice.

Sanctions

If a person breaks a law, enforcement organisations can impose sanctions. These vary from a fine to a jail sentence. Which sanction applies depends on the gravity of the offence.